Videos, pictures and text by stephan908
When orangedevilsfan asked on the blog which other brass band the readers of this blog follow, I wrote up my experience of how I got to know KT and how we saw them for the first time live at the Garasha Matsuri in Nagaokakyō in November 2019. I dug up the pictures and a few short video clips I took that day and included a selection here.
Tachibana roaring to go!
I was never into marching bands, not even remotely. After another week-long trip to Japan full of meetings and presentations in April 2019, I spent a long weekend in Kōchi and Tokushima before flying back home. After having some fantastic katsuo no tataki (bonito seared over a hot straw fire) at Hirome Market in Kōchi City, I came across a local girls’ brass band (=Tosa Girls’ Junior and Senior High School Brass Band) performing as part of a fundraising drive, a very pleasant after-lunch entertainment.
It was the first time I had seen that but dimly remembered that I heard it was popular in Japan. I googled it later and immediately came across KT’s version of “Sing, Sing, Sing”. That was that 🙂 . My jaw dropped when I saw what they’re capable of, looking through their videos. I’m also not into Disney movies or tunes, not even as a kid, I’ve never actually watched a whole Disney movie in my entire life 🙂 . I didn’t even know I was listening to their Disney medley until I read some of the comments that included the song list 🙂 . I’m still not into marching bands, I just love KT, it’s somehow the “whole package” that is so unique and described so well by their motto “Full of Energy, Smiles and Dreams!” (“元気いっぱい！笑顔いっぱい！夢いっぱい！”). And my wife feels the same way now :-).
When we were preparing for the next trip to Japan in November 2019, I checked whether there any any matsuris (traditional Japanese festive events) that time of the year. Most matsuris are held in summer, which is when we’re never in Japan. Turns out there’s the annual Garasha Matsuri in November in Nagaokakyō (for details click here, in Japanese), not far from Kyoto. And since we were based at Osaka University for a couple of weeks this was just half an hour away. And wouldn’t you know it, KT was also scheduled to perform in the parade! Perfect!
Orange congestion at traffic light
We took the Hankyū line from Osaka to Nagaokakyō and walked up to a local school where, according to the event map, all the groups would assemble for the parade. I suddenly noticed I was standing next to P-chan with her big smile, and other members of the percussion group waiting for a street light to turn green, surrounded by lots of orange 🙂 . The first thing I thought was wow, the orange and yellow colors are even more intense in reality than what they appear to be in the videos 🙂 . It was a gorgeous, sunny day and the uniforms and instruments were all gleaming in the sunlight.
P-chan at assembly area
What was really great was that to our surprise they let us also into the assembly area, the school yard, where all the groups got ready for the parade and you can actually mingle with the various groups. I didn’t expect that at all, but this is a great opportunity to take pictures and videos when everyone is in “pre-performance” mode chatting and getting ready. We would have brought a real camera had we known that!
Click picture to watch video
After assembling, the groups then walk out of the school yard up to the street in sequence to start the parade, with ample space to take pictures.
Click picture to watch video
Click picture to watch video
As soon as you leave the school yard though there is no easy way to take unobstructed pictures and videos any more, the amount of spectators waiting for KT is simply insane given the narrow sidewalk space available 🙂 . The main street of Nagaokakyō that the parade follows is quite narrow (despite the fact that Nagaokakyō once was the capital for 10 years or so a long time ago, before they decided on Kyoto), and while narrow streets are fantastic for the sound, the sidewalks are of course densely packed with people and you have a hard time walking with them. I can spot myself in the “Anna” video trying to squeeze along, my wife hanging on to my coattails for dear life 🙂 . I didn’t include any of my clips of the actual parade out on the street, there are much better and longer versions available on YouTube, such as the one by “Anna” (click here).
Click picture to watch video
The band radiated so much energy during the parade down the narrow street, and to top it off P-chan screamed right in front of us 🙂 ! That was a perfect day!
Another tip, if you ever have the chance to go Nagaokakyō and watch the parade: don’t count on KT making it all the way to the other end near the castle as in earlier years, only the smaller groups seem to make it to the very end. That’s probably because the road gets even narrower somewhere south of the railway crossing and you can see in videos from earlier years how tricky they are for KT to navigate with all the spectators still lining the street.
Latest dance move by Tachibana: Floating in the air to avoid crowds!
So to answer orangedevilsfan’s original question, I don’t follow any other bands, KT ticks all the boxes for me, and then some, plus I barely have time to at least occasionally watch some of KT’s videos, I probably have seen only a rather small fraction of them by now. Which is fine with me, since that means there must be so many great ones still waiting to be discovered!
Skipping down the street screaming…
After having watched for the first time the wonderful Christmas concert streamed live a few days ago, I thought I’d leave you with this short description of my first live encounter with KT, and the pictures and clips to go with it. My best wishes to all of you, stay healthy, and let’s hope for a better 2021, when concerts, contests, and screaming Orange Devils skipping down the street in front of you giving you high-fives are hopefully all possible again. And last but not least, huge thanks and kudos to everyone at KT, their support staff, and especially the 117th class, who did so exceptionally well against all odds!
…and high-fiving!
I’ve watched countless video’s of your students and I have to say they are one of the happiest most sincere ,and talented high school bands I have ever seen.!! I really like how much energy and pride percussion section puts into their music!!All the students do a beautiful job!! Keep up your fantastic work! You are all truly amazing!!Thankyou So Much!!
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stephan908, Thanks so much for reaching out and posting this story and your experience. It’s a great encounter story and your photos are really fantastic. Thanks too for the referral to the “Anna” video. It’s a great complement together with your material and story. As a side note…. your other replies about Japanese language and culture and your experience and recommendations for self-study was equally informative and very interesting as well. Thank you! So glad you took the time to share, and how very blessed you are for your great experience, KT SHS Band is not simply a band, they are an incredible phenomenon. It is one of my real dreams to accomplish attending a KT performance in person before I leave this earth. Thanks again! God Bless and stay well!!
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Thanks to Alan I now know who the band was that I saw in Kōchi City in April 2019. He deduced correctly that is was the “Tosa Girls” I saw (Tosa Girls’ Junior and Senior High School Brass Band), I recognize the uniforms.
Thanks a lot Alan, it’s very nice to be able to put a name to the band who put me on the path to KT 🙂 !
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Thanks stephan908, wow, to actually be there-totally Killer. Great pics and comments. I’ve seen that particular parade so many times-probably seen you. The lucky people that attend and film, know the value of telescoping video equipment. But one can still hear their beauty. Thanks again Stephan, appreciate it sir.
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Thanks stephan908. What a great post!
I clicked one Youtube video year 2018 february, because there were beautiful women with instruments. I was looking Glenn Miller in movie Sun Valley and YT found some brass music more. It was KT in Garasha parade just before Rose Parade. And now has couple years gone with weekly dose of Tachibana medicine for whatever boring moments you have in your life.
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A huge thanks for sharing your story and material! I enjoyed your wife’s glowing remarks there :), looks you like she was an easy convert… It seems like you got better access than most photographers, the hordes of which we see in every parade video. Maybe they concentrate on the actual parade, so they did not try to crowd the staging area. I can only imagine how it must have felt being so close. I would have at least given them a thumbs up with a smile, but maybe you did 🙂
I am not a big fan of crowds, so although attending a parade would certainly be an incredible experience I am a bit anxious about having to push myself forward thru the throngs of people trying to follow the band. How did you learn Japanese if I can ask? It’s really a struggle for me, it’s basically all brute memorization with no hooks unlike all the European languages I know. Different grammar, three writing systems, differences with formal/informal language, one of the hardest languages to learn apparently.
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Hi griz95,
thanks for your reply, I sure did give them a thumbs up with lots of smiles, and saying “ganbatte ne” or thanking them with a simple “arigatō gozaimasu” is never wrong 🙂
I understand your feeling about crowds, I’m not a fan either. But if I had to pick a place anywhere in the world where I would say crowds are still bearable, it’s Japan, because what really matters how people behave in crowded situations 🙂 . If I would have to choose one “mantra” that can only consist of 3 words and which defines the Japanese culture, it’s “don’t inconvenience others”, and it also shows in how people behave in crowds.
Tips on learning Japanese is of course a topic that others host entire blogs on 🙂 , so I feel I can only give you a very personal view on what worked for me.
First of all, you are right, let’s not fool ourselves, Japanese is difficult to learn, much more difficult than languages closer to your own mother tongue. You listed a few of major reasons already (different grammar, three writing systems, differences with formal/informal langauge), and of course it doesn’t stop there: word order, verb endings, transitive/intransitive verbs, on-yomi/kun-yomi etc.), and of course above everything the fact that every language is a product of the people and their culture who speak it. In the case of Japanese, that means it is highly context-driven (what do you say, what don’t you say, what words and grammar do you use depending on the person you’re talking to, etc.). Learning Japanese is like unravelling a mystery, and you have to enjoy doing exactly that.
I think it’s fair to say that it can take double or triple the amount of time, especially when you are not surrounded by it, i.e. when you don’t live in Japan, or live with Japanese speakers in your household. I never had the chance to take regular in-person language classes, so I mostly studied it on my own.
But it is possible to learn it, and I strongly believe that what people have in common who do achieve it is that they have a strong, realistic primary goal. Thus, first set yourself a primary goal that you feel strong and passionate about, and which will carry you through the years. (And just in case you’re wondering, I don’t consider “becoming fluent in Japanese” a good and realistic primary goal, that would be setting the stakes way too high 🙂 ).
The primary goal helps you determine your priorities, which in turn help you to pick suitable strategies, which should result in realistic expectations of what you can and want to achieve once you’re on your journey.
For me, the primary goal was that whenever I would be going to Japan, I wanted to be able to travel off the beaten tourist track and be able to get around in places and communicate with people who don’t speak or understand English at all. So, that meant I would for instance not bother learning to write Kanji, or even spend too much time and effort reading them. I also didn’t need to bother with passing or even aligning my skills with standard language level tests (JLPT). I wanted to focus on active speaking and listening skills for all the things you need and want to do when you are travelling (as opposed for instance to living) in Japan. Having secondary goals is great, I have those too, but I feel it’s the primary one that needs to be very strong to carry you through, and it worked very well for me. And, by the way, I don’t consider myself being particularly “good with languages”.
Here are some of my tips and resources, but take that all with a grain of salt, your mileage will vary, since language acquisition is based a lot on your own preferences, skills, experience, etc.
I started with textbooks several years ago, but meanwhile the tools and resources available online are making them more effective for individual learners than standard textbooks, especially when you don’t take in-person language classes at least on a weekly basis that make use of these standard textbooks.
Start out with learning hiragana and katagana first, after that avoid romaji whenever possible.
Even if you don’t plan on studying kanji characters themselves, learn to recognize the 214 kanji radicals sometime down the line, that helps you a lot recognizing kanjis without really studying them formally, plus it helps you guess their meaning and look them up in a dictionary.
I always prefer resources that use furigana (i.e. small hiragana displayed typically above kanji characters), that’s how kids in Japan learn too. The cool thing is you start inadvertently recognizing kanji characters without focusing on learning them, while still getting all the hiragana you need for proper pronunciation.
I use Anki (https://apps.ankiweb.net/) literally every day to review vocab. I add every word or phrase I want to memorize to my own Anki deck. If smartphones wouldn’t exist, you would have to invent them so you can use Anki on them, that’s how much of a killer application for smartphones it is for me. It’s by far the app I use most on my phone. There are public Anki decks for hiragana, katagana, and the kanji radicals (plus many more).
There are so many valuable resources on the internet and especially on Youtube these days, here are a few I have been using frequently to learn grammar and focus on listening skills:
Japanese Ammo with Misa: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBSyd8tXJoEJKIXfrwkPdbA
Miku Real Japanese: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsQCbl3a9FtYvA55BxdzYiQ
Benjiro – Beginner Japanese: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChBBWt5H8uZW1LSOh_aPt2Q
Yusuke (もしもしゆうすけ): https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcCeJ3pQYFgvfVuMxVRWhoA
Plus many others that I use occasionally when I’m looking for explanations or examples of particular language issues.
If you’re looking for a more structured approach, I hear quite good things about JapanesePod101.com, i.e. the premium lesson-based content available through their web site and app. See if they offer you a way to test it for a month when you sign up, so you can judge if it works for you. I plan on taking a closer look at it myself.
Other than that, try to surround yourself with as much other Japanese things as possible in your daily life to simulate an “immersion” 🙂 : Watch NHK World TV all the time, print and scatter Japanese vocab visual flash cards around your house, try to decipher the instructions on your Japanese food items, put a map of Japan on your wall, etc 🙂 .
The thing is, once your approaching intermediate level, you really need to actively practice speaking it, otherwise you’ll feel like you’re “plateauing”, and that’s frustrating. Here’s where resources such as italki.com come in (which I have used for conversation practice, and as an on-demand resource to ask any questions I have about particular grammar or language use). Alternatively, language tandems work very well too, which I’m currently planning to set up with my Japanese colleagues in Tokyo. The good thing is, many Japanese want to learn and especially practice their English (or other languages), so it’s not hard to find tandem partners online. Even before that, i.e. before actually talking to people, many learners benefit from “shadowing”. Do whatever it takes to get yourself away from the feeling that it’s all about brute memorization, I know that feeling, and it’s a killer.
If that sounds all a bit daunting, never forget the benefits! It is a difficult but fascinating language, giving you deep cultural insights and abilities to better understand a culture which is on the other end of many “scales” when you compare it with cultures we in Europe and North America are familiar with. It gives you the chance to communicate with wonderful, welcoming people, who will let you feel what is means to them that you take the trouble to learn their language, even if you’re still at the beginner stage.
And don’t forget, native speakers of Japanese find it hard to learn conversational English too, so we’re all in the same boat. Here’s something fun watch that illustrates that point: (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NQyCaJ0Pb44). This clip is almost cult now, it’s from 2005, and members of Japan’s arguably most famous girl/idol group (“Morning Musume”) are “taking an English language class”. It’s so sweet and hilarious, you’ll never forget expressions like “long long yesterday” and “refrigeeta” again. Enjoy!
I’m sure I forgot a few more points, but I think this post is already getting quite long 🙂 . Good luck with your Japanese studies, find out what works best for you, and make good use of all the resources available nowadays. Don’t forget, the same internet that brought KT to us also brings us great Japanese learning resources 🙂 .
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Stephan- Thank you. Very informative indeed. This will probably become a reference document for many people!
Other than history, especially the effect of the Sakoku period, I think that the language barrier has most allowed Japanese culture to adapt to Western influence in its own way. Seeing the results, overall it’s a good thing really.
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When I became a fan of the Orange Devils, I immediately thought that perhaps I should try to learn Japanese. Reminded me of the time when I wanted to learn Russian. I started with textbook learning, but that really wasn’t what I wanted to learn. I wanted to learn the kind of Russian I wanted to use when I met a true Russian on the street. So, I switched to conversational Russian. But, in order to learn that kind of speech, I would have to be where I could totally immerse myself in it. I live in midwest USA, and the likelyhood of finding a situation like that here is nil! I still haven’t learned conversational Russian … so, gave up the idea of trying to learn Japanese.
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Stephan, what can I say? What a killer of a response. Thanks a million! Sorry for taking so long to say this. I will definitely check out the Anki app. I have been using quite a few of the resources you listed, but not some of the others. I will look at it all.
It’s quite interesting how you got into this. I am in a similar boat. Never been to Japan, but I am curious by nature and always been interested in Japan, even took a class on Japanese history and culture in college. About a year ago I finally decided to use my free time better and make an honest attempt at learning the language with the goal of being able to carry a simple conversation when I finally do get to visit. I have made some progress since, but compared to me learning other languages, it seems quite slow and tedious.
The app I have used most is Duolingo, which seems good for practicing concepts already learned elsewhere.
The other tool I have had for the past year is HelloTalk allowing me to communicate with native speakers who are trying to learn English (mainly). I have to say I have learned more about Japan (culture, geography, life, food) than I ever dreamed about through the app. I even talked to a couple of KT fans, because I can’t keep myself from advertising their videos, haha!
About the crowds, it does make sense what you are saying, I am just not used to navigating huge crowds anymore, I live outside the city and rather venture into the mountains that the city. Maybe the videos look scarier that what it feels like in person. 🙂
Finally, thank you for the encouragement, I will keep at it!
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Great, stephan908 !
Thanks for sharing these good moments.
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Hi Freud,
glad you liked them, such memories only get better when you share them with others!
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I’m a 73 year old Brit.-a lifelong music lover (all types) but, like you,marching bands held no attraction for me.Brass bands I quite enjoyed when encountered but never sought out.My love of Japanese guitarist Masayoshi Takanaka brought me to YouTube and after devouring nearly all of the prodigious number of his videos (Highly Recommended) I found myself moving on to discover the mind-boggling wealth of amazing Japanese musicians in Jazz,Classical and Rock.etc.For several months YT would put in a suggestion which had a thumbnail of some girls in orange in formation – I ignored it (of course) until ,one day, my curiosity got the better of me and I clicked on one. I’ve never had one but it was like a “Damascene Revelation”!! During that one video I laughed and cried! almost overcome with emotions I couldn’t describe! Now I know that this is quite normal and we call it “The Tachibana Effect”and that’s not the only thing for which I have to thank the Orange Devils because through them I discovered the phenomenon of Japanese School Bands and then JSDF, Police ,Fire service bands and so on.The talent in many of these bands is almost unbelievable.I do understand your point of view though,it’s probably shared by many fans around the world,it’s not just the music or the dancing/marching or the Cuteness and smiles.It’s more than the sum of the constituent parts, it’s something very special which only this band has. My thanks for your excellent posting and my apologies for rambling in response. But before I finish,please try and find time to check out the Kindai University SHS wind Orchestra (one of the best big bands I have ever heard) and the Wonderful Seika Girls SHS. You won’t regret it!
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Hi Jay,
thanks for your comments, I’m very happy to hear you liked the post. I think you said it very well, there is definitely something like the “Tachibana Effect” and it most certainly has something to do with the fact that the sum is even more impressive than the already impressive individual constituent parts. I’ll take a look at the Kindai University SHS Wind Orchestra, thanks for the suggestion, a friend of ours is actually a professor at Kindai.
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What wonderful images and text that capture the smiles and spirit of what would be the last proper parade for at least a year. Well done!
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Hi Alan,
I’m very happy you liked it, especially considering you’re actually the one who made the suggestion to post it here, so thanks for that! It was fun writing it up and looking through the pictures and videos I took that day.
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Hi Stephan
Wow what a moment to witness and remember.
Thank you for sharing this magical memory.
Great photos and videos 👍
You really caught the spirit, we can not always attain on the other side of the world 👏
I know this may sound kind of weird, us being adults and all and they being kids, but you managed to see and hear our heroes in the flesh🤗
At any point, did you and your good lady, manage to speak to any of the band and even the ultimate goal of a high five with some.
Thank you again for that and jealous, of course I am not 😱😂
The future is bright the future is Orange 🍊
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Hi dodger,
thanks for your reply and I’m very happy you enjoyed it!
You asked 2 very good questions, let me answer the easy one first 🙂 : for a high-five during the parade you not only have to be at the right place at the right time, but you have to be stationary. That’s because you have to stand right at the curb for that, but if you want to move along with the band (and next to nothing would have kept me from doing that 🙂 ), you can only do that further back from the curb on the sidewalk, way out of reach, even for someone with monkey arms like me.
To answer your second question: I would have had no problem talking to them in Japanese, as my Japanese is good enough for that. I would have also done that to some group in Europe, or in North America. But the thing is, I’m in Japan quite often, and when I’m there I’m in my “Japanese mindset”, and in that mindset it would not have been “appropriate” to just walk up to them and talk to them. The appropriate way would have been to talk to someone from the support staff first, but by the time that would have been all settled, the photo-ops would have come and gone 🙂 .
Also, mingling with them in the school yard, we were so close to them that I felt already quite uncomfortable holding up my phone “in their face”, even if taking pictures is considered less intrusive than it might be in a North American or European context. I did feel a bit like an intruder, despite the fact that KT is for sure used to being photographed wherever they turn.
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